The head of Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development (CAADP) and Senior Advisor, Africa Union Commission Mr Keizire Boaz Blackie says African leaders have failed to design pragmatic social intervention programmes that will benefit majority of the people on the African continent. Instead, political leaders have continued to spend enormous resources to maintaining political power, Blackie intimated. He was speaking to Myjoyonline.com ahead of the 9th Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development (CAADP) of the Africa Union Commission in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. According to him, agriculture remains a crucial sector in the economies on the continent but African leaders have constantly failed to place agriculture on their development agenda, he stressed. Mr Blackie explained that it is as a result of this phenomenon that the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development was instituted in Maputo in 2003 to serve as a platform that will initiate policies and programmes for African leaders to improve food and nutrition, food security and reduce poverty through what he described as ‘Transformative Agriculture in Africa’ The Senior Advisor and head of CAADP revealed that the meeting in Addis Ababa will afford participants the opportunity to discuss and demonstrate commitment and ownership of the CAADP agenda with the view to accelerate its implementation. Ghana’s Minister for Agriculture Hon Clement Kofi Humado is already in Addis Ababa to lead the discussion on how leaders of the continent can adopt pragmatic and realistic agricultural strategies that are targeted at the youth for sustainable development of the agricultural sector. The event which started Monday 25 March, 2013 will last for three days and will bring together high level African political leaders, Ministers of State, Agricultural Technologist and Civil Society groups. The conference is on the theme ‘Sustaining the CAADP Momentum- from Decision and Commitments to Implementation for Results and Impact’